Sainsbury's deliveries cut for Festival

The store said that road closures and delays meant it would not be able to operate its normal service between August 13 and September 5, to homes in the EH11 and EH12 areas such as Gorgie, Murrayfield and Broomhouse.

But residents and councillors are scratching their heads over the decision, pointing out that these areas are "nowhere near" festival venues or roads that would be affected by the events.

A Sainsbury's spokesman said they had "not taken the decision lightly" but felt it was the best course of action. Asda, Tesco and Waitrose are all operating a normal service.

Tory councillor for Corstorphine and Murrayfield, Jeremy Balfour, branded the decision "ludicrous" and said customers would unfairly miss out. He said: "It seems to be a very strange decision. The reasoning doesn't hold water. I think the Festival could be being used as some sort of excuse.

"Obviously the elderly and disabled are going to miss out following the decision, and I wouldn't blame them if they decided to take their custom elsewhere. I'd like Sainsbury's to explain why they can deliver to some places, but not Murrayfield and surrounding areas. It's ludicrous."

The city council confirmed it does not expect the areas specified by Sainsbury's to be affected by traffic disruption.

One resident, from Haymarket, said he did not understand why the supermarket had made the decision not to deliver to his area. He said: "I'm very surprised. Although we live in central Edinburgh, we are nowhere near the High Street or anywhere there could conceivably be any disruption to traffic.

"Compared to the chaos and diversions from the trams over the last couple of years - which never stopped a delivery - the Festival areas must be easy to navigate. After all, it's been going on for 60 years. Sainsbury's didn't do this last year as far as I know, so why now and why throw away all this business during the city's busiest weeks?"

Another affected 59-year-old resident, from Murrayfield, added: "I can pop down to the store in three minutes, but I liked to get my weekly things delivered because I'm getting old and my back isn't great. Why they would deliver across town, but not to me just down the road, is bizarre."

A Sainsbury's spokesman said: "Due to the huge volume of traffic and the disruption caused by road closures and diversions during the Festival we have reluctantly suspended home deliveries to customers in certain areas between August 13 and September 5. We would like to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and deliveries will resume from 6th September.

"The widespread diversions mean we are not able to deliver to our customers with the high standards of service they have come to expect from us. The decision to cease deliveries really was a last resort."